Photo Story: A Celebration of Body Hair
Swedish photographer, Fanny Beckman, captures artist Bethany Burgoyne in her latest stage of body hair acceptance. 'Body Washed' shows Bethany at a turning point of celebrating the growth of her beard for the first time. It is this precious and intimate moment that we feel come alive through Fanny’s photographs, reflecting both women’s skills of combining vulnerability with power.
'Body Washed' shows Bethany freshly showered, resting in a bathtub, while her limbs become like the plants, moving and bending in their state of growth. Hairs invitingly glisten while surreal, mirrored reflections provoke a conversation about the perspective of beauty and gendered expectations.
For Bethany, her journey of embracing her body hair has been something that, like nature, went through seasons of growth. Battling storms of judgment resulted in a deeper-rooted sense of strength. And the warmth from sunnier days has helped Bethany to feel more confident as she took on this personal challenge of self-acceptance.
Body Washed is a continuation of both artists' mission to provide further inclusivity within visual media, using their creative careers to change the portrayal of women for the better. For Fanny Beckman, this has taken the form of podcasting and portraiture photography. Her ongoing project 'Women of My Generation' directly challenges modern beauty standards by focusing on female-identifying people who are reinventing the narrative of body image. With over 30 episodes and counting, 'Women of My Generation' is continually expanding in its scope of conversation by talking with Mothers, models, mental health advocates, and more.
Having invited Bethany onto the show, Fanny and Bethany bonded over their mutual philosophies on transforming female representation in an authentic and intersectional way.
Turn into the podcast episode above to hear Bethany discuss with Fanny her work promoting female body hair and getting comfortable in our own skin.
Fanny Beckman is a portrait photographer who uses art to raise awareness of social injustice, mainly from a feminist perspective. She studied Fine Art Photography, and has exhibited projects surrounding domestic abuse and beauty standards. She won the Julia Margaret Cameron Award in 2019.
Bethany Burgoyne is an artist, journalist and performer who produces stories that encourage positive social change regarding body image, sex and intimacy, and contemporary culture. She is the founder and editor of The Sassy Show; a multimedia platform celebrating female-identifying creatives who are transforming the portrayal of women in media.